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Take a MSU Traditions quiz to see how you measure up!
Fridays at the Marketplace at Perry are called what?
The Details
Marketplace at Perry
Perry Hall was built in 1921 in the heart of then-Mississippi A&M College. The building’s Late Gothic Review style, which incorporates large wooden arches supporting a gabled roof, is more suggestive of a stunning cathedral than a cafeteria. Once the largest college cafeteria in the United States, the building was also used as a dance hall and an indoor football practice site. The cafeteria would serve campus as A&M evolved into Mississippi State College and ultimately Mississippi State University. In 1993, Jane Perry of Spanish Fort, Alabama, provided MSU with a $1.5 million gift annuity to renovate and preserve the cafeteria. The gift was a memorial to her late husband, George D. Perry, a 1919 graduate and 1972 MSU National Alumnus who presided over the MSU Foundation board for a decade. In recognition of Perry's long association with his alma mater and the significant gift, the cafeteria became Perry Hall. The historic landmark remains a centerpiece of campus dining. The Perrys are also remembered for their gift to build the Carillon Tower at the Chapel of Memories.
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How did the Junction receive its name?
The Details
Junction
Formerly the poorly conceived convergence of five often-congested roadways and, earlier, a rail line, this student-inspired concept got its name from the term "Malfunction Junction," the informal name of the crossroads prior to the vacation and rerouting of some of the roadways. This resulted in improved traffic flow and ample new green space for leisure activities and events, including football tailgating.
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The Details
Bully
Mississippi State University athletic teams are called Bulldogs, a name earned and maintained over the decades by the tough, tenacious play of student-athletes wearing the Maroon and White. The official school mascot is an American Kennel Club registered English Bulldog, given the inherited title of 'Bully'.
As with most universities, State teams answered to different nicknames through the years. The first squads representing Mississippi A&M College were proud to be called Aggies, and when the school officially became Mississippi State College in 1932 the nickname Maroons, for State's uniform color, gained prominence. Bulldogs became the official title for State teams in 1961, not long after State College was granted university status. Yet references to school teams and athletes as Bulldogs actually go back to early in the century, and this nickname was used almost interchangeably with both Aggies and Maroons, since at least 1905.
Newspaper reports of the victory over the University of Mississippi commented on the 'bulldog' style of play by the A&M eleven, and the Bulldog was soon publicly accepted as a school athletic symbol. Accounts of a 1926 pep rally in Meridian, Miss., had another bulldog parading with students.
Use as an official game mascot began in 1935 when coach Major Ralph Sasse, on 'orders' from his team, went to Memphis, Tenn., to select a bulldog. Ptolemy, a gift of the Edgar Webster family, was chosen and the Bulldogs promptly defeated Alabama 20-7.
A litter-mate of Ptolemy became the first mascot called 'Bully' shortly after Sasse's team beat mighty Army 13-7 at West Point that same year, perhaps the greatest victory in MSU football history.
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How was MSU founded?
MSU has the nation’s second largest on-campus dairy manufacturing plant that produces:
The Details
MSU’s Dairy
Touting the nation’s top collegiate Jersey herd and second-largest on-campus dairy manufacturing plant, Mississippi State annually produces 369,000 gallons of milk, 9,000 gallons of ice cream, and 300,000 pounds of cheese – all sold exclusively on the MSU campus.
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MSU holds which national championship title?
The Details
Maroon and White
Maroon and White are the distinctive colors of Mississippi State University athletic teams, dating back over a century to the very first football game ever played by the school's student-athletes.
On November 15, 1895, the first Mississippi A&M football team was preparing for a road trip to Jackson, Tenn., to play Southern Baptist University (now called Union University) the following day. Since every college was supposed to have its own uniform colors, the A&M student body requested that the school's team select a suitable combination.
Considering making this choice an honor, the inaugural State team gave the privilege to team captain W.M. Matthews. Accounts report that without hesitation Matthews chose Maroon and White.
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MSU is home to which presidential library?
The Details
Ulysses S. Grant's Presidential Library
Mississippi State is one of the few universities to house presidential papers. In May 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, Mississippi State University was selected as the permanent location for Ulysses S. Grant's Presidential Library. President Grant's artifacts are to remain permanently at the Mitchell Memorial Library on the MSU campus. These include Grant's letters and photographs during his presidency, from 1869 to 1877. The MSU library catalogued and cross-referenced 15,000 linear feet of material. Grant's letters have been edited and published in 32 volumes by the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Southern Illinois University Press.
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MSU is known for these accomplishments:
All of the above
MSU Archeologists discovered official clay seals in Israel, offering evidence of the existence of biblical kings David and Solomon.
MSU is the national lead university for the FAA’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
MSU’s “Orion” supercomputer is ranked in the Top 100 fastest in the world.
MSU is known for what noisemakers at outdoor ballgames:
The Details
The Cowbell
The precise origin of the cowbell as a fixture of Mississippi State sports tradition remains unclear to this day. The best records have cowbells gradually introduced to the MSU sports scene in the late 1930s and early 1940s, coinciding with the 'golden age' of Mississippi State football success prior to World War II. The most popular legend is that during a home football game between State and arch-rival Mississippi, a jersey cow wandered onto the playing field. Mississippi State soundly whipped the Rebels that Saturday, and State College students immediately adopted the cow as a good luck charm. Students are said to have continued bringing a cow to football games for a while, until the practice was eventually discontinued in favor of bringing just the cow's bell.
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MSU’s home football stadium is the second oldest in the NCAA Division I. What is the name of this stadium?
The Details
Maroon and White
Maroon and White are the distinctive colors of Mississippi State University athletic teams, dating back over a century to the very first football game ever played by the school's student-athletes.
On November 15, 1895, the first Mississippi A&M football team was preparing for a road trip to Jackson, Tenn., to play Southern Baptist University (now called Union University) the following day. Since every college was supposed to have its own uniform colors, the A&M student body requested that the school's team select a suitable combination.
Considering making this choice an honor, the inaugural State team gave the privilege to team captain W.M. Matthews. Accounts report that without hesitation Matthews chose Maroon and White.
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What famous novelist graduated from MSU?
The Details
John Grisham Room
Among the library's premier collections is that of internationally known author John Grisham, an MSU alumnus who donated his papers to the university in 1989. Grisham's collection, now consisting of over 42 cubic feet, has also attracted national attention to the library. Materials from the Grisham papers are on display in Mitchell Memorial Library's John Grisham Room (3rd floor), which opened in May 1998. The libraries also receive his published works, including foreign-language translations.
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What is the name of the area in front of the Colvard Student Union that has a tree with a bench around it?
The Details
The Bull Ring
MSU's landscape has changed dramatically since the 1950s, but its sense of community hasn't. In the days when Highway 12 ran through the heart of campus, students gathered in front of the Colvard Student Union under an oak tree with a concrete bench circling it. Known as "the bullring," it was a place to meet friends, catch up on news, and be in the know.
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The Details
WMSV
MSU is home to WMSV, the campus radio station, which routinely plays older alternative-mainstream rock and pop from the 1990s. Much of the music on the radio station comes from syndicated radio programs from Public Radio International, but the station's homegrown music programs on Sunday afternoons and evenings emphasize jazz and blues classics.
Prior to WMSV, Mississippi State had a student-run radio station, WMSB, which went off the air permanently at the end of the spring semester of 1986. WMSB was a low-power FM station with studios on the top floor of Lee Hall. WMSB was begun in the fall semester of 1971 in a freshman dorm room on the third floor of Critz Hall, utilizing an FM stereo transmitter that was designed and built as a high school science fair project by one of the station's founders. The station's original call letters were RHOM. Later, funding was solicited from the Student Association. Funding was approved, the low-power RCA FM transmitter was ordered and the call letters WMSB were issued by the FCC. The station was moved to studios on the top floor of Lee Hall that was formerly occupied by a student-run AM station.
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What is the name of the MSU fight song?
The Details
Hail State (Fight Song)
Hail dear ol' State!
Fight for that victory today.
Hit that line and tote that ball,
Cross the goal before you fall!
And then we'll yell, yell, yell, yell!
For dear ol' State we'll yell like H-E-L-L!
Fight for Mis-sis-sip-pi State,
Win that game today!
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What is the significance of the Drill Field on MSU’s campus?
The Details
Drill Field
Mississippi State's campus is centered on the main quadrangle, called the Drill Field due to its heavy use by the Corps of Cadets prior to the end of World War II. The Drill Field is defined at its north and south ends by the mirror-image buildings, Lee Hall (the original University building, now the division of languages building) and Swalm Hall (home to the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering). Old Main was the original dormitory, west of Lee Hall; it burned in a tragic fire and was replaced by the Colvard Student Union. The largest building fronting the Drill Field is Mitchell Memorial Library
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What is the student led newspaper called?
The Details
The Reflector
The student newspaper is The Reflector, published twice per week on Tuesday and Friday. The publication was named the #1 college newspaper in the South in 2007 by the Southeast Journalism Conference. In recent years, The Reflector has remained in the top 10 college newspapers in the South.
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What was MSU’s athletic team mascot before becoming the Bulldogs?
The Details
Bully
Mississippi State University athletic teams are called Bulldogs, a name earned and maintained over the decades by the tough, tenacious play of student-athletes wearing the Maroon and White. The official school mascot is an American Kennel Club registered English Bulldog, given the inherited title of 'Bully'.
As with most universities, State teams answered to different nicknames through the years. The first squads representing Mississippi A&M College were proud to be called Aggies, and when the school officially became Mississippi State College in 1932 the nickname Maroons, for State's uniform color, gained prominence. Bulldogs became the official title for State teams in 1961, not long after State College was granted university status. Yet references to school teams and athletes as Bulldogs actually go back to early in the century, and this nickname was used almost interchangeably with both Aggies and Maroons, since at least 1905.
Newspaper reports of the victory Over the University of Mississippi commented on the 'bulldog' style of play by the A&M eleven, and the Bulldog was soon publicly accepted as a school athletic symbol. Accounts of a 1926 pep rally in Meridian, Miss., had another bulldog parading with students.
Use as an official game mascot began in 1935 when coach Major Ralph Sasse, on 'orders' from his team, went to Memphis, Tenn., to select a bulldog. Ptolemy, a gift of the Edgar Webster family, was chosen and the Bulldogs promptly defeated Alabama 20-7.
A litter-mate of Ptolemy became the first mascot called 'Bully' shortly after Sasse's team beat mighty Army 13-7 at West Point that same year, perhaps the greatest victory in MSU football history.
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